Threshold Fall/Winter 2008

Making the Atchison Connection
by Mary Agnes Patterson, OSB

How do you get needed services started?
How do you develop a vision or idea into
a real program?

If you are Sister Gabrielle Kocour, you ask questions, and listen, and ask more questions. Then you act on what you have learned and heard.

In 2002, Sister Gabrielle was appointed to give shape to a vision adopted by our community: focus our ministries “on empowering women, particularly the young, the poor, and those in greatest need, through education and the sharing of our Benedictine culture and spirituality.”

Sister Gabrielle decided to meet with groups of women in Atchison to listen to them and to learn what services and programs they thought were needed. After the meetings with the thirty to forty women from our area, the Women’s Wisdom Center evolved with this vision: “to be a community of women empowering other women, and together experiencing changes in ourselves and our communities.” The goal of the Women’s Wisdom Center is to offer opportunities for development through education, spirituality and advocacy.

Today, this ministry is a service of the Sophia Center and is known as “The Atchison Connection.” It has evolved over the years and currently serves 85 women from Atchison and the surrounding area. The offerings include the popular book discussions and current events discussions that have continued since the beginning of the program. Other programs include art and poetry, tai chi, meditation and yoga, and spirituality programs such as bible study. The practice of lectio divina, a reflection and sharing on the Sunday readings, is a joint venture of Sister Gabrielle and Father Owen Purcell of St. Benedict’s Abbey. It is offered at the abbey and is especially directed towards Benedictine College students.

A current offering, “Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton,” provides an opportunity for spiritual enrichment for the participants. The spiritual life journey is not always an easy topic to discuss with one’s friends, but attending these sessions with other people who want to explore the spiritual life can be very rewarding.

Sister Sheila Carroll works closely with Sister Gabrielle and also provides spiritual guidance for those who seek it. Together, they have worked with other women in Atchison and been instrumental in getting the distribution of government food commodities started again in Atchison.

Sister Gabrielle is involved with the Atchison Ministerial Alliance, the Unmet Needs Task Force of NEKAP, the Dream Team, with a focus on youth programs, and she is a board member of Domestic Violence Emergency Services (DOVES). Through these involvements she is able to stay in touch with the needs of the women in Atchison and our surrounding area.

The programs of The Atchison Connection are offered on a free will donation basis. Sophia Center has scholarships available for the classes or services that have fees.

The Atchison Connection is reaching out to Atchison area women and inviting them to take time for themselves, refresh their spirits, stimulate their minds, and connect with other women. The Atchison Connection joins with other circles of Atchison women to create caring environments for personal growth through spiritual and social development.

Sister Martha Schweiger leads
(front to rear) Kristen Eichelberger Billings, Jan Hansen
and Judy Wolters in a yoga class.



Sister Gabrielle Kocour, Virginia McCoy, Gloria Throne,
Sister Sheila Carroll, Patty Wolvington, and
Anne Eggers are some of the women who participate in the
Bridges to Contemplative Living program.